The Hindu : New Delhi News : Rs. 1,039 crore approved for polio eradication

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 30, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Rs. 1,039 crore approved for polio eradication

Special Correspondent

Uttar Pradesh accounts for bulk of the cases followed by Bihar

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Thursday approved a fund of Rs. 1,039 crores for implementing the polio eradication strategies during the current financial year.

The strategies include conducting four nationwide rounds of polio immunisation, interspersed with several rounds of sub-national immunisation in high risk States and areas and mop-up rounds in case of occurrence of polio cases in non-high risk States and areas. The exact number of sub-national and mop up rounds would depend on recommendations of the group of experts from time to time.

Rehabilitation fund

The CCEA also approved a fund of Rs. 20 crores for provision of corrective surgery and rehabilitation of polio victims and equip them to earn their livelihood. It is estimated that there are about 20,000 such children in the country.

As per the latest information available with the National Polio Surveillance Project, which is a joint programme of the Union Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation, there have already been 60 cases of polio in the country this year, as against 20 cases for the same period last year. Last year, for the entire year, there were only 66 cases. Uttar Pradesh accounted for bulk of the cases, at 46 cases followed by Bihar with 12 cases, and Madhya Pradesh and Jharkand with one case each.

Noting that the case in Madhya Pradesh had its origin in Uttar Pradesh, senior officials in the Union Health Ministry said that but for the continued prevalence of polio cases in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India could have long back achieved the goal of eradication of the crippling disease. As many as 33 States and Union Territories have been without a polio case for the last three years, but the immunisation programmes have to be continued there too to ensure that the disease does not spread to them.

Pointing out that the country had been spending over Rs. 1,000 crores a year for the polio eradication programme, they said that if only Uttar Pradesh and Bihar took extra efforts and helped the country get rid of the disease, this sum could be used for other urgent health problems.

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